Work Health and Safety Blog

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Plumbing - Why PPE will help prevent a serious injury

Maralyn Kastel - Friday, August 02, 2013

Plumbing in Australia is one of the highest risk industries and there have been a number of serious and fatal incidents in this area (plumbing excavation work) in the last two months according to the Master Plumbers Association.

As an operational and legal requirement to working safely, it is important to regularly examine all the tasks to be completed to complying with work health & safety requirements – so as part of your routine risk management, you must:

In examining just one small area of work health and safety in the plumbing industry, using PPE is often an issue. So here’s a reminder of why personal protective equipment is something to discuss with all workers.

Hand and eye protectionHands are going to be exposed to hazardous and toxic chemicals occasionally. Keeping latex gloves on while working in these areas is imperative to prevent any chance of accidentally rubbing eyes or nose after being exposed to hazardous chemicals.

The same applies to general germs when working on drains. In this case, it's best to wear a heavier pair of gloves under the latex gloves reduce the risk of contamination or transfer of germs.

With possible toxins in water, a small drop splashed in an eye can be very serious. The same can be said of foreign objects falling into the eyes while working under sinks. Wearing safety glasses to protect the eyes is an important protection to protect eyesight.

Wearing a particle maskDuring the process of cutting pipe, particles can get in the air and cause major health risks. In some cases, those particles become toxic when there's insulation around the plumbing area, so always wear the correct particle mask.

Other areas to help reduce the risk of accidents and injuries include:

Don't put tools in an upper pocket
It might be tempting to keep a sharp-edged tool in a shirt pocket for easy access during a plumbing project. But it's not a good idea because the tool can potentially cause an eye injury when crouching in tight spaces. Tool belts are essential to can gain access to tools and they are a safe distance from the eyes.

Being fit for workSerious mistakes causing personal injury or extensive damage while working with pipes and heavy-duty equipment occur if workers are not “fit for work” or are working while being fatigued.

Protect your back and take regular breaksIf workers are crouched in the same position for many hours it can create a potentially risk for a serious back or neck injury. Maintaining a straight back when working and making sure equipment is lifted properly will help reduce the potential for muscle injuries and back strains.

Breaks about every half hour are appropriate to reduce the risk of repetitive movements or cramped positions causing musculoskeletal injuries and long term health issues.